Former Intelligence Officials Launch Campaign Against Obama

Former intelligence operatives launched a campaign against Obama, accusing president of claiming undue credit for the Osama bin Laden raid.

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Rachel Hirshfeld , 17/08/12 02:16

President Obama

Reuters

A group of former military and intelligence officials launched a campaign against President Obama on Wednesday, accusing him of claiming undue credit for the Osama bin Laden raid and suggesting the administration leaked classified security information in an effort to prevent Israel from attacking Iran.

The group, called Special Operations OPSEC education Fund Inc., released a 22 minute video on its website and plans to go on air with a television ad sometime in September, Fox News reported.

In the video, retired CIA agents and other intelligence personnel claim that the administration has been leaking security details for political gain, and specifically target the president over his public handling of the raid that killed the al-Qaeda terrorist mastermind.

"Mr. President, you did not kill Osama bin Laden. America did," Navy SEAL Ben Smith said in the video. "The work that the American military has done killed Osama bin Laden. You did not."

The president has made the assassination of bin Laden a focal point in his re-election campaign, calling it one of the "gutsiest calls of any president in recent history."

Highlighting the security leaks controversy, the narrator in the video says former military and intelligence operatives who understand the importance of operational security "have had enough."

"Their mission -- stop the politicians from politically capitalizing on U.S. national security operations and secrets," the narrator says, as a picture of the president appears on the screen.

Obama has condemned the leaks, saying the issue is "a source of consistent frustration" for the administration.

A new book, titled “Leading From Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisors who Decide for Him,” which is scheduled to be released at the end of the month, similarly argues that Obama canceled the operation to kill the terrorist mind on three separate occasions before finally approving the May 2, 2011 Navy SEAL mission.